Today is Super Tuesday and the Tennessee Secretary of State says you can report anything suspicious you may see today at the polls.
Tennessee is #1 nationwide for election integrity. A toll free number is in place to report suspected fraud, 1-877-850-4959.
Election officials say all registered voters should know it’s easy to cast a ballot in Tennessee but hard to cheat and if you need a ride to the polls or know someone that does, Knoxville Area Transit buses are offering free rides to the polls. KAT Director of Transit says transportation should never be a barrier to voting.
Absentee Ballots must be returned to Election Commission by USPS, FedEx, or UPS by Close of Polls on Tuesday, March 5
Knox County Election Commission reminds voters that absentee ballots cannot be hand-delivered to polling place or KCEC office
Knoxville – Knox County voters that have received their absentee ballot in the mail and haven’t yet mailed it back can – with a first-class stamp for postage – drop it off at:
Downtown Knoxville Post Office
501 W. Main Street
Knoxville, TN 37902
OR
Weisgarber Post Office
1237 Weisgarber Road
Knoxville, TN 37950
By 4 pm on Tuesday, March 5, 2024 to help ensure that those ballots will be delivered to the Election Commission by the close of polls on Election Day.
Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) crews continue working around the clock repairing potholes along interstates and state routes caused by January’s record winter storm. The statewide effort is using all available resources, including contract crews, to repair the damaged areas as quickly as possible. TDOT has laid more than double the amount of mix this January and February compared to the same time last year.
As weather permits, TDOT will continue repairing the roads over the coming days and weeks. More permanent repairs will be made in spring and early summer when asphalt plants are regularly producing hot mix. Full-scale paving may be necessary in some locations.
Drivers should be prepared for short-term traffic delays during these pothole repair operations. While every effort will be made to perform repairs during off-peak travel times (9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. weekdays), some lane closures may extend into the late afternoon, evening, and weekends. We ask drivers to be patient and to watch out for TDOT crews on interstates and state highways. Work with Us – move over, slow down.
Drivers can report potholes by calling the TDOTFIX Hotline at 833-TDOTFIX or by submitting an online maintenance request form.
From your desktop or mobile device, get the latest road conditions and live streaming SmartWay traffic cameras at www.TNSmartWay.com/Traffic. Travelers can also dial 511 for travel information or follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/myTDOT for statewide travel.
Clinton, TN (WOKI) The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation identifies the victim of an officer-involved shooting Sunday in Clinton.
TBI officials say 25-year-old Isaiah Gregory Hill died after Clinton police responded to the 1000 block of Medaris Street for a reported suicidal person around 8:00 p.m.
TBI says the officer found Hill in a parking lot where at some point police say shots were fired.
Hill was hit and taken to a local hospital where he later died.
The officer involved sustained minor injuries.
Officials with the Clinton Police Department said District Attorney General Dave Clark has been briefed, and TBI will lead the investigation.
Cocke County, TN (WOKI) A woman found dead last month in Cocke County has been identified.
Officials with the Cocke County Sheriff’s Office say 26-year-old Michella Day was found dead off of Punkton Road on February 24.
CCSO says Day was originally from California but was living in Hamblen County. While the office is still waiting on autopsy reports for toxicology results, officials did confirm that there was no physical trauma that could’ve caused her death.
An investigation remains ongoing. Those with information are being asked to call the Cocke County Sheriff’s Office at (423) 623-6004.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The league office released the bracket for the 2024 Southeastern Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament, and Tennessee is the No. 5 seed and will open play on Thursday afternoon at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, S.C.
The Lady Vols (17-11, 10-6 SEC) tied Alabama (23-8, 10-6 SEC) for fourth in the league standings, but the Crimson Tide earned the No. 4 seed after UT fell to No. 1 South Carolina in Columbia on Sunday, 76-68, and Bama held off Texas A&M, 78-71, in College Station.
Tennessee is scheduled to play the second game on Thursday at approximately 2:15 p.m. ET, following the noon contest vs. No. 8 Mississippi State and No. 9 Texas A&M. The Lady Vols will face the winner of Wednesday’s tilt between No 12 Kentucky and No. 13 Georgia. The winner of the UT vs. UK/UGA game would advance to Friday’s quarterfinals and face Alabama at the same time. SEC Network will broadcast all first, second and quarterfinal round match-ups, ESPNU will carry Saturday’s semifinals and ESPN will televise Sunday’s championship game.
Tennessee is 1-0 vs. Georgia (W, 95-73 on 2/1/24) and 1-0 vs. Kentucky (W, 87-69 on 1/7/24) this season and stands 10-3 vs. the Lady Bulldogs and 8-3 vs. the Wildcats, respectively, in previous SEC Tournament meetings.
The other top-four seeds in the SEC Tourney are No. 1 South Carolina, No. 2 LSU and No. 3 Ole Miss.
UT will be competing for its 18th all-time SEC Tournament crown. The Big Orange have advanced to at least the semifinal round the past three seasons, including the championship game a year ago. UT has fallen to the eventual champion (South Carolina in 2021, Kentucky in 2022, South Carolina in 2023) in each of the past three years.
This marks the seventh appearance for the tourney in Greenville after it previously was held there in 2005, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2023.
COLUMBIA, S.C. – Tennessee continued its strong play to close out the regular season, challenging No. 1 South Carolina fiercely in front of a sold-out Senior Day crowd of 18,000 at Colonial Life Arena before falling, 76-68, on Sunday afternoon.
The Lady Vols (17-11, 10-6 SEC), who fell behind by 15 in the third period and entered the fourth down 11, never surrendered and trimmed the deficit to three with 4:58 to go. The Gamecocks, though, managed to stave off the valiant effort by the Big Orange and improve to 29-0 overall on the season and 16-0 in SEC play.
UT, however, did manage to hold USC to its smallest margin of victory at home all season and the only one by single digits. It also stands as the third-closest win margin of the year behind a six-point triumph at No. 9 LSU on Jan. 25 and a seven-point victory at No. 24 North Carolina on Nov. 30.
Tennessee, which had played the Gamecocks to an 11-point setback in Knoxville on Feb. 15, was led in scoring by fifth-year forward Rickea Jackson, who shined in the spotlight with 29 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots. Jewel Spear and Jasmine Powell also were in double figures, each tallying 12 points on the afternoon.
South Carolina featured five players scoring in double figures, led by the 18-point, 14-rebound effort of 6-foot-7 center Kamilla Cardoso. Te-Hina Paopao tossed in 14, with MiLaysia Fulwiley, Bree Hall and Ashlyn Watkins contributing 13 each.
After an opening bucket by USC’s Fulwiley, the Lady Vols took an early 4-2 lead on scores from Sara Puckett on a put-back and Jackson on a layup. The Gamecocks responded with a 5-0 run, surging to a 9-4 edge by the 6:56 mark. UT answered, though, with Spear and Jackson connecting on jumpers to trim the deficit to 11-8 by the 4:34 media timeout. South Carolina scored four straight out of the break before Spear answered with a driving layup to pull UT within five, 15-10, with 2:19 to go. USC outscored Tennessee the rest of the period, 5-4, with pairs of free throws by Powell and Jillian Hollingshead keeping their team within range at 20-14 after one.
The Lady Vols scored five straight at the outset of the second frame, cutting the USC lead to one, 20-19, on a pair of Jackson free throws and then a Powell three-pointer at the 8:25 mark. After back-to-back buckets by Cardoso, Tennessee counter-punched with a Powell three, a Jackson fast-break layup and another long ball from Powell to take its first lead of the game, 24-23, with 6:23 remaining in the quarter. After the Gamecocks tied it back up on a Chloe Kitts free throw, Jackson responded with a jumper to lift her team on top by two, 26-24, with 4:49 to go in the first half. A 5-0 burst by the hosts put them back ahead, 29-26, at the 3:58 mark, but UT responded with a free throw from Tess Darby and two more from Tamari Key to pull even at 29 with 2:58 left. The Gamecocks, however, compiled an 11-3 run the rest of the way to take a 40-32 lead into the locker room.
The teams exchanged buckets after the half before South Carolina pushed its advantage to 12 by the 7:07 mark in third stanza, leading 46-34. A turnaround fade-away off the glass by Jackson whittled the gap to 10, 46-36, with 5:30 to go, but a Gamecock free throw by Sania Feagin sent her team into the media timeout with a 47-36 lead with 4:50 on the clock. A Jackson fast-break layup out of the break and a Darby jumper with 3:04 twice cut the deficit to nine, 49-40. A 6-2 burst, though, pushed the Gamecocks ahead by 13, 55-42, with 1:46 remaining. A pair of Fulwiley scores swelled the USC lead to 15 with 56 ticks left, but a jumper by Spear and layups by Karoline Striplin and Powell narrowed the deficit to 11, 59-48, heading into the final period.
At the start of the fourth, UT reeled off a 6-0 blitz on two charity tosses by Jackson, single free throws by Powell and Jackson and a put-back jumper by Jackson to make it 59-54 USC with 7:27 to go. UT then cut the gap to three at the 4:58 mark, 63-60, on another Jackson jumper. The Gamecocks answered and pushed their lead to seven, 67-60, with 4:14 left before a Darby layup pulled her squad to within five, 67-62, with 3:47 to go. A Gamecock response resulted in the lead growing back to 11, 73-62, with 1:14 remaining after a pair of Watkins rebound baskets. A Spear, jumper and an old-fashioned three-point play by Jackson got Tennessee back within seven with 20 seconds left, but the Lady Vols could get no closer. UP NEXT: The Lady Vols will head back to South Carolina in the coming week, traveling to Greenville for the SEC Tournament at Bon Secours Wellness Arena. If the Lady Vols earn a No. 4 seed, they’ll play the second game on Friday in the quarterfinal round at approximately 2:15 p.m. ET. If UT winds up as the No. 5 seed, it would play at the same time, only a day earlier on Thursday in the second round.
STIFLING THE GAMECOCKS: The Big Orange defense held the Gamecocks to just 33.3 percent from the field, its worst mark of the season. After holding USC to a 40-percent field goal percentage in Knoxville, the Lady Vols have limited South Carolina to two of its four worst shooting games this season. Entering the contest, USC ranked second in the nation in field goal percentage with a rate of 50.9 percent.
OPENING WITH DEFENSE: For the second time this season, the Lady Vols were able to contain one of the nation’s top offenses in the first half. South Carolina was 35 percent from the field in the first half on Sunday after shooting just 33 percent during the earlier match-up in Knoxville. Outside of its two games against UT, the Gamecocks have been held below 40 percent from the floor in the first half just once in SEC play.
KEA CONTINUES TO DAZZLE: With 29 points on Sunday afternoon, Rickea Jackson moved to sixth on the all-time Lady Vol scorers list, including transfers, surpassing Candace Parker (2,137, 2005-08). Jackson has tallied 2,150 points in her career and notched her 45th consecutive game in double figures. The senior also has scored 20 or more points in 25 games during just two seasons as a Lady Vol, ranking fifth all-time on Rocky Top.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Another explosive offensive performance resulted in a 16-6 run-rule win for No. 7/8 Tennessee in Sunday’s series finale against Bowling Green at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
The Vols (11-1) completed their second consecutive series sweep and rank their winning streak to 10 games with Sunday’s victory. Since the start of the 2020 season, UT has swept 13 of its 15 non-conference home series.
The Big Orange set the tone early with a four-run first inning and added five more in the second to race out to an early 9-2 lead. They finished with a season-high 17 base hits thanks to multi-hit efforts from four different players. Cannon Peebles and Dalton Bargo led the charge with three hits apiece while combining for four RBIs and four runs scored on the day.
Dylan Dreiling also had a productive afternoon at the plate, posting a career-best four RBIs on two hits, including a three-run homer in Tennessee’s five-run second inning. Ethan Payne had a career-high two hits and drove in a run, as well.
The Vols used eight different pitchers in the game with Kirby Connell picking up the win after an impressive inning of work. The veteran lefty entered the contest with runners on first and second with nobody out in the third but escaped the jam unscathed with a groundout and a pair of strikeouts to strand two runners on base.
Sam Seidel and Gavin Ganun led the Falcons’ offensively with two RBIs each, but no BGSU player recorded more than one hit on the day.
Starting pitcher Calvin Mitchell suffered the loss after allowing four runs on five hits in just one inning of work.
UP NEXT: Tennessee is slated to play five more home games next week, starting for a midweek showdown against Kansas State on Tuesday at 6 p.m.
STAT OF THE GAME: The Vols scored seven of their 16 runs with two outs and went 7-for-13 at the plate with two outs in the game. UT also was 10-of-16 with runners in scoring position.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The ninth-ranked Lady Vols hit five home runs on Sunday at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium as they picked up two more wins in the Tennessee Classic – beating Stetson 3-2 and Longwood 12-1.
Graduate Kiki Milloy hit a pair of bombs in game two versus Longwood – opening the outing with a leadoff homer before roping her second of the day in the fourth inning. Tennessee’s all-time home runs leader, Milloy has hit six homers this season with three coming over the weekend.
Milloy also stole three bases in the day’s first game versus Stetson and has six stolen bases in the last four games.
Destiny Rodriguez was the hero against Stetson as her sixth-inning home run proved to be the game-winner. With the game tied 2-2, Rodriguez blasted a ball off the top of the scoreboard in left to put UT ahead by a run and clinch the victory.
The long ball was Rodriguez’s four of the season and her second game-winner.
In the circle, Charli Orsini got the start against Stetson and tossed 4.1 innings. She scattered four hits and two runs – one earned – with a pair of strikeouts. Karlyn Pickens came on in relief with the game tied and threw the final 2.2 frames.
She allowed just one hit, struck out five and walked one as she earned the win and moved to 6-2 on the year.
Payton Gottshall went the distance in Tennessee’s run-rule win over Longwood as she pitched five innings. The graduate struck out eight, while giving up one run on four hits. With the win, Gottshall is 5-2 in 2024.
GAME ONE – #9 Tennessee 3, Stetson 2 In the first inning against the Hatters, senior Zaida Puni started the scoring with a grounder to short. Her hit allowed Milloy to break for home and slide in to beat the tag at the plate for Tennessee’s opening run.
Senior Rylie West continued to swing a hot bat as her third-inning double to right center plated Milloy and gave UT a 2-0 lead.
Stetson’s Annabella McClerren tied the game in the fifth with a two-run home run, setting the stage for Rodriguez’s second game-winning blast of the season.
With one out and a 2-1 count in the bottom of the sixth, Rodriguez plunked the top of Tennessee’s scoreboard in left-center field to put UT ahead and clinch the game-one win.
GAME TWO – #9 Tennessee 12, Longwood 1 No heroics were needed in the second game of the day versus Longwood as the Lady Vols jumped out quick on the Lancers, scoring eight runs in the first two innings.
Milloy led off the game with a homer in the bottom of the first before UT cranked up the offense in the second, plating seven runs on three hits.
Rodriguez drew a bases-loaded walk – one of 10 walks drawn by the Lady Vols in the game – to drive in UT’s second run. West cleared the bases in the next at-bat, hitting a grand slam to straightaway center field.
Tennessee added two more runs in the frame off a bases-loaded walk and a Sophia Nugent grounder that Katie Taylor was able to score on.
Longwood got one run back in the third as Kayley Devivi roped an RBI double to left.
McKenna Gibson responded for the Lady Vols as she hit a two-run home run in the bottom half of the inning. The homer marked her third of the season.
Also in the third, Taylor Pannell drove in a run with a sac fly to center.
Opening and closing the night, Milloy hit her second home run of the game in the fourth to put the Lady Vols up 12-1.
UP NEXT The Lady Vols and Lancers will close out the 2024 Tennessee Classic with a Monday matinee. First pitch from Sherri Parker Lee Stadium is set for noon ET. The game can be streamed on SEC Network+ or through the ESPN app.
Voice of the Lady Vols Brian Rice will mark his first game in the booth for Tennessee softball in 2024 on Monday. Fans can listen to his call via a free audio broadcast through UTSports.com or the Tennessee Gameday app.
The University of Tennessee is planning on pumping $85 million into upgrades for Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center.
The upgrades were originally announced when UT signed a naming deal with Food City, officially changing the name of their arena. At the time, UT announced new club amenities, changes to the Ray Mears Room and a new center-hung video board.
Food City is paying $20 million dollars for their 10 year parntership.
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee visits with troops ahead of their deployment to the southern border.
Lee committed to deploying more troops during a trip to the southern border with 14 other Republican governors just over a month ago.
Lee says it was an honor to stand before them Saturday and called the ongoing issues at the southern border “a true crisis for our country” with concerns about human and drug trafficking.
He commends Tennessee’s National Guard troops for answering this important call to service and providing critical support.
